Customising your staff's english programme

 Amid claims and  counter-claims, slogans and jargon, how do you find the best-fitting solution that will maximise your company's ROI (Return on Investment)?

Each organisation and situation is different, but you are probably facing some, if not all, of these challenges:

n You need flexibility - many learners travel frequently or have other commitments, which may conflict with regular classes.

n Your staff have widely ranging levels of English, from near-beginner to pretty-proficient.

n They also have differing needs: Some will mainly be responding to and writing e-mails, while others will have to handle phone conversations in English, for example.

n You want them to learn real communications ability in English, not just abstract academic knowledge.

Among all schools that claim to meet your needs, how can you choose the one that will provide the staff in your organisation with the best learning outcomes?

It is not an easy choice for an English expert to make, let alone a non-expert. So here are some tried-and-trusted guidelines to help you: n The instruction system should enable flexibility: one based around regular classes, with teachers at fixed times, obviously does not. The best fit may well be a modular "blended learning" system, which allows learners to study at any time that suits them and also includes lessons with teachers.

n Ensure that the school has an accurate and proven placement test and that they offer different levels of English to cope with the range of your students' abilities.

n Another aspect of flexibility is that a blended-learning system allows people to concentrate attention on the areas most important to them. People who learn only with teachers and at fixed times, all end up studying exactly the same thing, whatever their individual needs.

n Two factors that build genuine communications ability: the curriculum and the teachers. Ensure that the school you choose follows a recognised curriculum - one that sets communication, rather than academic goals.

n Ask potential suppliers how large their groups are, and reject those with over ten students per class.

It is important that all course material should be motivating: "edutainment"-based courses sustain involvement by providing an element of entertainment.

For verified learning outcomes, it is best to refer to a set of standards that are independent of any one school or institution; the most widely recognised today is the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR).

Simon Buckland is director Curriculum Development for Wall

Street Institute International.